Cooking our way through the Pandemic

Regis and I both enjoy cooking so with very little else to do, we have been doing a lot of cooking during our “Stay the blazes home” isolation. 

 We have been making fresh pasta for many years, but we experimented with making lovely pink beet pasta, tortellini and ravioli. Then with our new pasta extruder we discovered fresh fusilli and bucatini. Of course you then have to find an interesting sauce to accompany the pasta. 

Another batch of fresh pasta

 We worked at mastering the Instant Pot, discovering it makes perfectly juicy chicken wings ready to be sauced under the broiler, and fall off the bone back ribs. We found it also makes cooking rice easy and quick, and can be adapted for many different recipes. Even wild rice comes out perfectly. As well, the 10 pounds of beets Regis brought home to help with my low potassium, were quickly and perfectly processed in this handy addition to our kitchen. We are constantly finding ways to use this appliance. 

 Regis discovered that rather than buying frozen puff pastry she could add another pastry to her “Pastry expert” resume, when she made beef wellington for my birthday and moved on to sausage rolls and then she discovered choux pastry for cream puffs and curried turkey appetizers. We made a huge batch of pirogies, one kind with aged cheddar and the other

Pierogi filling

with cheddar and added jalapeños. 

We also found a variety of ways to cook the delicious Nova Scotia pork filling our freezer from “Pig 3” (that’s another story . . .) The latest recipe we tried was a Belgium Pork Roast served with a gravy made from beer and cream. What is not to like. I discovered that Costco started carrying my favourite fish, sea bream from Greece and I have found different ways to cook this delicious seafood. 

 Video conferencing also became a part of our kitchen experience. Unable to get together to bake Christmas goodies, Regis spent an afternoon on Google Groups making cookies with our daughter living and working in Northern Ontario, and this worked so well that our son took advantage of the new kitchen skill to make crab dip with her via video conference. This has also proved handy in conferring with friends to master recipes and techniques. 

 My family cookbook which I have been building over the years has grown to 133 pages and most of the recipes only get included once they are used at least twice. 

 So being asked to stay home, we have enjoyed cooking and finding new and better ways to make delicious meals, and as a result, we are eating very well. Bon appetite!

Always keep the wine rack stocked . . .

Cooking With Aunt Dora

Rolled Veal

What do you give someone who has everything? How about a cooking class in Italy about cooking Italian food? Since our son and his Partner were visiting us in Lecce, we decided to save their birthday gifts until they got to Italy and we gave them Italian cooking lessons (For fun; not because they needed them of course . . .)

The Green Italy Crew

GreenItaly, the tour company we used for a tour of the area with friends, also offered cooking classes. We were so impressed with their service that we decided to go with their offerings; it was close by and seemed like a fun day. The owner offered to pick us up at the Ostuni train station and offered us a quick free tour of the town of Ostuni after dinner.

The Expert Pasta Makers

This was no usual cooking class. We were not in a big fancy “School Kitchen”, we were in Aunt Dora’s farm house. As we pulled up to the obvious working farm, we

Making Pasta

were greeted by the uncle and numerous dogs, who questioned our presence on their territory. The uncle shook everyone hands, but he obviously spoke no English and went about his work on the farm. We were ushered into the house where we met Aunt Dora, her daughter and a friend. Aunt Dora is a retired professional cook from a local B & B, but more than that, she is like our driver’s Mother who we met on the tour, an Italian wife, mother and homemaker, doing all the cooking and preparation of food for the family. Who better to teach us to cook Italian?

We started off preparing veal, which was seasoned, stuffed, and rolled to be gently cooked in homemade tomato sauce from tomatoes grown on the farm. These tomatoes were picked when ripe and left for a week “in a box” to sweeten. Back home I have to add carrot or sugar to my Mexican or Californian tomatoes, but that is not needed with real Italian tomatoes.

Proud Pasta Maker

We then made pasta. Everyone was given a pile of flour and we added water and mixed it to create the pasta dough. Having made pasta myself many times, I know the feel, and Aunt Dora was impressed with my ability – not so much some of the others. Once the dough met Aunt Dora’s exacting standards, it was rolled into long ropes. We then cut it into little pieces and made Orecchiette. This is not easy and takes practice. You use a knife and press and pull it across the piece of dough and onto your finger to create a convex circle of pasta, which is then reversed onto your thumb. It sounds difficult and it is. It took us all a while to get a decent piece of oreccchiette. As we slowly practiced Aunt Dora slickly produced a pile of these little pasta. Fortunately I was working on the same pasta board as she was, so my efforts got mixed with hers and I looked pretty good. Once we had sort of mastered this skill, we were instructed on making Macaroni, which is much easier. You simply cut a small piece of pasta and slide your knife over it, rolling a little cylinder of pasta.

Finally Finished . . .

While Aunt Dora and her helpers finished the veal and cooked the pasta we sat down for an amazing selection of Antipasto dishes, all made with local ingredients by Aunt Dora. Fried zucchini, breaded eggplant, fava bean puree, roasted peppers, artichokes, molded ricotta cheese, salami, and others I do not recall. All were delicious, and I was having serious doubts if I would have room for the actual dish we had worked on, but when it arrived everyone did their best. Of course the meal was lubricated with lots of local wines and someone must have leaked the fact about the birthdays, because desert was a delicious Nutello/chocolate cheesecake.

The Results of our Work

In addition we were served Tangerines from the orchard and we left with a branch of fresh lemons to take with us.

We left for a walking tour of Ostuni, full of Italian food and knowledge of how to make it. Let me know if you want to know how to make oreccheitte, I think I can do a reasonable imitation of Aunt Dora’s pasta. 

OMG The Food

No Go Once More

We should have purchased our train tickets in advance, because when we got to the station this morning, the early trains were completely booked, and the earliest we could catch a train was at 4:06 pm. Not a big deal, it just meant we had additional time to explore Rome rather than Bari. We had spent four days in Rome previously, so we thought we might go see the Coliseum which we did not see on the last trip. However, once more, the line-ups were miles long, and we just did not feel like spending our morning standing in a line. 

Great Italian Food

Instead we decided to walk around, and find the restaurant suggested by the host at the Dreamstation (our hotel), and sample some more delicious Italian food. Last night we found the place too late, and had to enjoy a meal across the street. So, instead of reading about a tumble-down Roman ruin, you get to hear about some of the amazing Italian food we have found. 

Beer in a wine glass - an Italian thing?

Last night I had spaghetti, but it was unlike any spaghetti I have ever had. This was sea bream fish with tomato and zucchini in a light sauce. I do not know what they call sea bream on our side of the Atlantic, because I have never seen it available in the stores, but it was one of my favourite fish when we visited Portugal. I was not expecting to see it mixed with pasta however, but my adventurous side prevailed and I ordered it. Absolutely amazing; the best pasta dish I have had in a long time. Little chunks of the fish, mixed with halved cherry tomatoes and shredded zucchini. I allowed Regis to sample it, although it was not a dish I wanted to share.

Regis' Ravioli

Today, Regis pasta dish was the amazing one. She decided to order the ravioli, but did not even ask what was in it. Served with a light basil and tomato sauce, the ravioli was stuffed with another fish, this time grouper, but again she started raving about it on the first bite. My delicious pasta with meat sauce paled in comparison with her ravioli. 

I think she liked it.

Today, as we had time to spare until our train, we ordered an appetizer, and it was equally delicious. Imagine battered deep fried stuffed olives, artichoke blossoms in tempura, and fried vanilla cream. Oh, there was also a couple of pieces of an Italian salami, and this was one occasion where I had to say that the meat was completely overshadowed by the vegetables. 

I cannot wait to see what other surprises the Italian chefs have for me.